Cloud Based Management Software

[Dillusion]

Probably a stretch but looking for any info if anyone has or still uses cloud based management software.

We use one right now. I won't name names yet but it was our old GMs decision to use and its really too big for us. It seems like a great product for the big boys but we are a small company (24 employees) and I need something more streamlined.

Our main business is on site service so we need to be able to have our technicians with a mobile app.

But we also do contract construction work which we need to track at the same time.

 

[Thebeastlives]

As a cloud architect you should be very specific with what type of app you are looking to use and which platform (AWS or Microsoft). There are tons of cloud applications out there including ones created by small developers for niche markets. Probably the easy way to see if there is an app that meets your company's needs is to search for what type of app you are looking for. Why ask the question here instead of a cloud app forum I'm not sure what the reason behind that would be?

 

[Dillusion]

As a cloud architect you should be very specific with what type of app you are looking to use and which platform (AWS or Microsoft). There are tons of cloud applications out there including ones created by small developers for niche markets. Probably the easy way to see if there is an app that meets your company's needs is to search for what type of app you are looking for. Why ask the question here instead of a cloud app forum I'm not sure what the reason behind that would be?

I did just figure I ask here as well.

Yes there is tons and everyone sales people only let you see what you want to see to get you to sign on the dotted line.

So trying to see if an app fits just from demos in my opinion is really un-reliable just like how we got suckered into our current one.

 

[dezertbomber]

A good starting point for us to help out would be a list of desired functions to narrow the scope of what would best serve your size and type of business. As you noted, the sky's the limit with cloud based SaaS options, so tailor it down from a needs perspective.

 

[Bumbo]

Not sure what your actual needs are, but ill throw in my 2 cents anyways.

Here are some comments from the perspective of a small business sales organization. We are self managed and with limited budget. We only contract out when needed.

As someone who is responsible for the infrastructure, I very much like the SaaS / IaaS model.

For our needs and use case, I ended up in the Microsoft camp very early. Office 365 Business Premium. We have had their business cloud suite for well over a decade but only recently started expanding our capabilities this past 2 years.

Recently we have done more SharePoint development and implemented Dynamics 365 for Sales. We are also looking into Dynamics 365 for Field Service after we get our service department up and running but are also looking at this to manage/track staff/jobs/work orders with our existing accounting solution. Field Service Management Software - Smart Service

Some of this product is still a bit "big" for our organization, but we wanted to grow into it without going through the pains of migration later on. Dynamics was chosen over Salesforce on price and to keep it in the MS stack.

There are plenty of modules and plugins for Quickbooks that would work very well for us, but we wanted to scale up over time, and keep it in the cloud. We have plans to move into a MS ERP over time (Business Central)

 

[Dillusion]

We are currently using Connectwise Manage if it help.

We have a service side that will take care of well service. But we also have a contracting side that we will need some PM features built in.

So for Service I would say some must haves
- Customer Sign off
- Inventory Management

Contracting Side
- Capture Estimating
- Schedule
- Actual Products/Material Used
- Revenue Reports

I have a ***** list of what I dont like but I'd rather her why others are good than grumble about why this one is not right for us.

 

[Thebeastlives]

I did just figure I ask here as well.

Yes there is tons and everyone sales people only let you see what you want to see to get you to sign on the dotted line.

So trying to see if an app fits just from demos in my opinion is really un-reliable just like how we got suckered into our current one.

My advice to you is you first list all of what you want in your app, the must have and the nice to have. You should cover how you want it to be used (mobile features vs operational and management features). You also really want to figure out what platform your organization wants to be on for the short and long term (ie AWS, Azure). What is your current email platform, do you use Sharepoint? If so, you are already in the Microsoft's camp. This possibly is just 1 of many apps that you will need over the next few years so getting this right will help you in the future. Having a conversation with a cloud expert, whether an individual or firm can help you select the correct roadmap for not only this app but your entire cloud platform. A forum is a decent place to ask some questions but the best place will be with a good cloud solution expert.

 

[Dillusion]

My advice to you is you first list all of what you want in your app, the must have and the nice to have. You should cover how you want it to be used (mobile features vs operational and management features). You also really want to figure out what platform your organization wants to be on for the short and long term (ie AWS, Azure). What is your current email platform, do you use Sharepoint? If so, you are already in the Microsoft's camp. This possibly is just 1 of many apps that you will need over the next few years so getting this right will help you in the future. Having a conversation with a cloud expert, whether an individual or firm can help you select the correct roadmap for not only this app but your entire cloud platform. A forum is a decent place to ask some questions but the best place will be with a good cloud solution expert.

Trust me listing everything I want in an app is impossible.

We use Connectwise.

Our needs are a little different that IT which is why 90% of those cloud management apps don't work for us.

Sharepoint is nothing like we are looking for. I don't need remote meetings, collaboration.

I need something to manage service dispatch, billing, construction management and tracking built into one. I can dig into each section but I'd have a book by then trying to type up my needs.

 

[Bumbo]

Trust me listing everything I want in an app is impossible.

We use Connectwise.

Our needs are a little different that IT which is why 90% of those cloud management apps don't work for us.

Sharepoint is nothing like we are looking for. I don't need remote meetings, collaboration.

I need something to manage service dispatch, billing, construction management and tracking built into one. I can dig into each section but I'd have a book by then trying to type up my needs.

You might be thinking of Teams, which is the collaboration part of their stack.

SharePoint is more of a live list to track data. It is also document management which focuses on metadata and permission control. It has become a essential part of our workflow and cloud strategy. Compared to our file server, everything people do there can be audited which increases accountability and security. It also helped provide compliance in record keeping which allowed us to realize our paperless goals. In addition to that, it supports other things like Power BI for reporting and dashboards.

I was in a similar position to you no more than 2-3 years ago... I think the advise [MENTION=448490]Thebeastlives[/MENTION] provided is good.

We basically put together a wish-list of things we needed and wanted. We also created some basic flow-charts to help explain our process. We then setup exploratory meetings with some very competent consulting companies who deal with ERP solutions.

I approached this with the same attitude as you. I ended up learning there really isn't anything that can't be done. It's more a matter of can you afford to do it and is it worth the cost.

The main reason we stick the the Microsoft stack as much as possible is because of the "out of the box" integrations. It simplifies everything and cost less. We have some custom applications where we needed to connect to, and they were able to create a custom solution to make a connection to that.

At the end of the day, these people are going to want to earn your business. It didn't really cost much of anything to get started talking to these people. Worse case scenario you burn a little time and learn something.

 

[Dillusion]

I am talking to a bunch of others. I'm just getting tired of the sales pitch so I figure I ask if anyone else uses some.

Sales people irritate the living shit out of me. (Sorry if you are a sales guy) Even our sales guy irritates me but he gets the job done so I work with him.

I have a couple more "demos" set up this week. I just don't like relying on "demos" because of course they only show their strengths.

 

[Bumbo]

I am talking to a bunch of others. I'm just getting tired of the sales pitch so I figure I ask if anyone else uses some.

Sales people irritate the living shit out of me. (Sorry if you are a sales guy) Even our sales guy irritates me but he gets the job done so I work with him.

I have a couple more "demos" set up this week. I just don't like relying on "demos" because of course they only show their strengths.

Fair enough... looking back at our journey through this I also had to deal with a lot of the sales pitch & demo. Burns a ton of time and rarely moves things forward.

My biggest annoyance was the front line peoples inability to answer technical questions, most can't talk mechanics. Most of them will end up needing the "escalate the call" or setup something with an engineer.

I have enough technical background to know how this stuff works, and I used that to help cut through the shit.

I ultimately started telling people that I'm busy, and if you are unable to answer my questions in the next follow-up meeting, then we will not move forward with you. I highly recommend you bring someone from your technical team otherwise we will just look elsewhere.

Some did and some didn't. Some wanted to charge me, and some obliged.

It turned out to be a solid indicator of what type of help and service you will get after signing a contract.

 

[Thebeastlives]

Fair enough... looking back at our journey through this I also had to deal with a lot of the sales pitch & demo. Burns a ton of time and rarely moves things forward.

My biggest annoyance was the front line peoples inability to answer technical questions, most can't talk mechanics. Most of them will end up needing the "escalate the call" or setup something with an engineer.

I have enough technical background to know how this stuff works, and I used that to help cut through the shit.

I ultimately started telling people that I'm busy, and if you are unable to answer my questions in the next follow-up meeting, then we will not move forward with you. I highly recommend you bring someone from your technical team otherwise we will just look elsewhere.

Some did and some didn't. Some wanted to charge me, and some obliged.

It turned out to be a solid indicator of what type of help and service you will get after signing a contract.

Sales rep aren't what you need. You need to contact a consulting firm that specializes in small to medium size businesses and let them help you navigate this journey with you. It will cost you absolutely nothing to reach out to some and video Conference with them. The right one will probably have a 75 to 80% solution for you and then it will be up to you decide what works and what doesn't and if can you afford it. IT consulting firms can be much more flexible in your solution than any company trying to sell you their software . Free good professional advice can only get you so far but it can help you decide what you want before you spend any serious money.

 

[Rapid_Amble]

We are currently using Connectwise Manage if it help.

We have a service side that will take care of well service. But we also have a contracting side that we will need some PM features built in.

So for Service I would say some must haves
- Customer Sign off
- Inventory Management

Contracting Side
- Capture Estimating
- Schedule
- Actual Products/Material Used
- Revenue Reports

I have a ***** list of what I dont like but I'd rather her why others are good than grumble about why this one is not right for us.

Is that all field service, more or less? Microsoft and Infor have cloud services for that, and there are a bunch of others.

 

[Bumbo]

Sales rep aren't what you need. You need to contact a consulting firm that specializes in small to medium size businesses and let them help you navigate this journey with you. It will cost you absolutely nothing to reach out to some and video Conference with them. The right one will probably have a 75 to 80% solution for you and then it will be up to you decide what works and what doesn't and if can you afford it. IT consulting firms can be much more flexible in your solution than any company trying to sell you their software . Free good professional advice can only get you so far but it can help you decide what you want before you spend any serious money.

That is essentially what we did... we were seeking out full service consulting firms who had a background in SMB using the technologies we had an interest in developing.

Often times you end up having to deal with some "account manager / sales person" first before you can get anywhere with the company.

It feels like I have to do the same meeting a 2-3 times, explaining the entire thing over and over, as it slowly escalates getting more capable people onboard.

It's a time consuming exercise that tends to wear you down.

 

[Dillusion]

Any suggestions on consulting firms then?

I'm sure if I call around for consulting firms I go through the same cycle with them trying to sell me why they are the best consulting firm. LOL.

Its like a never ending with sales people.

 

[Dillusion]

I truly think that there is nothing better than Google apps which can help with communications and tables (google sheets), where you can show everything in details and share all the information you need.

Google sheets is no where near what we need.

We need track more that just documents. We are tracking $, man hours, material costs , margins.

I think I found what we need am going through the process of getting it running.

We were on spreadsheets and it works to a point. But it will prevent growth if you ask me.

 

[mscot]

the consulting firm I work for can build exactly what you need with Appian. It's a business process management platform that allows you to build applications that are tailored to your exact needs without having to do a full custom build.
Most importantly, this customization does not impede the upgrade path as you will find many SAAS applications struggle with post customization. (SAAS typically gets both expensive and laborious to upgrade if you customize it).

Appian: Low-Code Automation Platform - BPM Software - RPA

DM me if you're interested. Happy to talk to you about it.